The UK government risks losing middle class voters if it raises taxes on alcohol, says market research firm Wine Intelligence.
The results of a study prepared for the Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) indicate that 74% of UK regular wine drinkers believe the current taxes on alcohol are already too high.
The WSTA commissioned the study in response to mounting efforts by anti-alcohol organisations who are lobbying for higher taxes as a way of dealing with problem drinking.
'The public don't want tax rises on alcohol full stop,' said Jeremy Beadles, chief executive of the WSTA.
'What people do want is a targeted campaign to deal with problem drinkers through better enforcement of existing laws,k and more education.'
The study also revealed that 31% of participants would travel abroad more frequently to purchase their drink if taxes were increased by another £0.25 per bottle of still wine or £0.50 per bottle of spirits.
Likewise, nearly all respondents said that extended opening hours had not encouraged them to go to pubs and bars more often, or to consume more alcohol.
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I think it is blindingly obvious that the price of alcohol has no real bearing on the UK's binge-drinking culture, as if you look at the continent, where alcohol is a lot cheaper than the UK, there culture of drinking is very different.
I agree that what is needed is a closely targeted campaign of trouble spots with an educational approach will work best. The governments advertising campaigns are of no effect as they purely remind those that binge-drink of a good night out, and feel that they almost work in the same way that the ASBO culture is, whereby these are actually being used as a status benchmark.
This government has already lost me as a voter - long ago!
Jay
New labour seemed to have alienated all classes but in this case the most imaginative solution to a problem of binge drinking is to put in place a financially punitive measure. It's exactly the kind of measure that does more harm than good yet is a key feature of any NL "Initiative"!
Nick Breeze
Jay has it absolutely right, unlike the Government.
You can't cure social problems by legislation and taxation which this Government, even after 10 of trying, has failed to realise. Like most failures they have been unable, or unwilling, to stand back and analyse at what they have been doing wrongly.
Is paying a bit more for alcohol worth it to get rid of this Government? Almost certainly!
Peter Bowyer, Swindon, United Kingdom
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I think it is blindingly obvious that the price of alcohol has no real bearing on the UK's binge-drinking culture, as if you look at the continent, where alcohol is a lot cheaper than the UK, there culture of drinking is very different.
